Dynamic support of multiple message formats

ABSTRACT

A method, system, computer system and computer program product to enable a single interface to be used to prepare and present messages in a variety of different formats. For example, the single interface can be used to prepare, receive or display messages in different languages, such as English or Japanese, which require different character sets. Furthermore, the single interface supports preparing, sending, and receiving messages in multiple text formats, such as plain text, rich text, and Multiple Internet Mail Extension (MIME) format. A message can be received in a native format, and a format for providing a response to the message can be dynamically selected. The response is provided in the dynamically-selected format.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/400,895, entitled “Dynamic Support of Multiple Message Formats” filed Mar. 27, 2003 and naming Wai H. Pak, Anil Kumar Annadata, Sanjeev Kumar, and Yu Jen Wu as the inventors. This application is assigned to Siebel Systems, Inc., the assignee of the present invention, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes as if completely and fully set forth herein.

Portions of this patent application contain materials that are subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document, or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to messaging systems, and more particularly, to supporting multiple message formats in a single user interface.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a 24×7 international business environment, electronic messaging provides a convenient way for companies to communicate with customers all over the globe. Currently, many companies have dedicated e-mail inboxes defined for specific business areas. Often, employees called agents are assigned to poll and manage the support requests from customers for one or more dedicated e-mail inboxes, as well as from their individual agent inboxes. With customer support centers handling very large numbers of customer support requests daily, increasing the efficiency of each agent in responding to each customer request by only seconds can produce enormous cost savings for the customer support center.

To provide international support, companies must be able to communicate with customers using a variety of electronic messaging systems, languages, and formats. Even within a single messaging system, messages can be sent and received having many different formats. For example, common electronic mail formats include plain text, rich text, and hypertext markup language (HTML). In addition, a message may be communicated in one language, such as Japanese, requiring a different character set for display than the default configuration for the recipient, who may, for example, use English as a default language. Preserving the original format of a message can be valuable in formulating a response to the message.

If a company wishes to implement a customer support center where agents can communicate using multiple messaging systems, typically the company must purchase different software products to handle each messaging system because of the different communication protocols involved. Because different products must be purchased, agents must learn to use a different user interface for each messaging system. Efficiency of an agent typically degrades when he or she must remember different user interfaces for communicating with customers via different messaging systems.

Thus, it is desirable to enable customer service agents to communicate with customers in a variety of electronic message formats from within a single user interface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables a single interface to be used to prepare and present messages in a variety of different formats. For example, the single interface can be used to prepare, receive or display messages in different languages, such as English or Japanese, which require different character sets. Furthermore, the single interface supports preparing, sending, and receiving messages in multiple text formats, such as plain text, rich text, and Multiple Internet Mail Extension (MIME) format.

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a message in a native format, dynamically selecting a format for providing a response to the message, and providing the response in the dynamically-selected format. The response can be provided automatically,

The independent format is independent of a character set or language, while the native format can be in a given character set or language. The method can further include including a pre-formulated answer in the response, wherein the pre-formulated answer is provided in the native format as part of the response.

In another embodiment, a system includes receiving means for receiving a message in a native format, selecting means for dynamically selecting a format for providing a response to the message, and providing means for providing the response in the dynamically-selected format. The system can further include including means for including a pre-formulated answer in the response, wherein the pre-formulated answer is provided in the native format as part of the response.

In yet another embodiment, a system includes a receiving module to receive a message in a native format, a selecting module to dynamically select a format for providing a response to the message, and a providing module to provide the response in the dynamically-selected format. The system can further include an including module for including a pre-formulated answer in the response, wherein the pre-formulated answer is provided in the native format as part of the response.

In another embodiment, a computer system includes a processor and a memory configured to store instructions. The instructions include receiving instructions to receive a message in a native format, selecting instructions to dynamically select a format to provide a response to the message, and providing instructions to provide the response in the dynamically-selected format. The instructions can further comprise including instructions for including a pre-formulated answer in the response, wherein the pre-formulated answer is provided in the native format as part of the response.

In yet another embodiment, a computer program product includes a computer-readable medium to store instructions. The instructions include receiving instructions to receive a message in a native format, selecting instructions to dynamically select a format to provide a response to the message, and providing instructions to provide the response in the dynamically-selected format. The instructions can further comprise including instructions for including a pre-formulated answer in the response, wherein the pre-formulated answer is provided in the native format as part of the response.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objectives, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example embodiment of a system to provide a single interface to present messages in a variety of different formats.

FIG. 2 shows an example data flow for receiving a message in the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an example data flow for responding for a request to view the message received in the data flow of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4A and 4B, collectively referred to as FIG. 4, show an example data flow for sending a response to the message received in the data flow of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the data flow for providing a response to a message.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a networking environment in which the present invention can operate.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a computer system that can be used to operate the present invention.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For a thorough understanding of the subject invention, refer to the following Detailed Description, including the appended Claims, in connection with the above-described Drawings.

References in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described that may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described that may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

Introduction

The present invention provides a method, system, computer system, and computer program product to receive a message in a native format, dynamically select a format for providing a response to the message, and provide the response in the selected format. One of skill in the art will understand that messages can include e-mail, web chat messages, short messaging service messages, and other forms of text messaging. The native format of the message can be, for example, determined by the environment in which the message was prepared.

The present invention can provide a response in the native format of the original message or in another format, such as a format used to prepare the response. The format of the response in which the response is to be displayed can be dynamically selected when the response is to be presented.

The response can be generated automatically or prepared by a user. The response can include data in an independent format that can be interpreted and displayed by a single user interface. For example, the response can include a pre-formulated answer to a question posed in the original message, and the pre-formulated answer can be stored in a format independent of any character set or language. The independent format need not correspond to either the native format or the format used to prepare the response. The response is provided in the dynamically-selected format.

FIG. 1 shows an example embodiment of a system 100 that provides a single interface to present messages in a variety of different formats. Shown as external to system 100 are a message client 105 used to prepare a message to be sent and a message server 110 to deliver the message to the recipient. In one embodiment, message client 105 is equivalent to an e-mail client, such as a Microsoft Outlook e-mail client, and message server 110 is equivalent to an e-mail server, such as Microsoft Outlook Exchange e-mail server. One of skill in the art will also understand that the functionality of message client 105 and message server 110 may be included within system 100, although this functionality is not a requirement for operation of the invention.

Shown within system 100 is application program server 120. Application program server 120 and application program client 125 may provide, for example, a customer service application to support service requests from customers. Application program server 120 is capable of obtaining messages from message server 110 and ensuring that the messages can be displayed in a variety of formats. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, application program server 120 includes inbound communication manager 130, which communicates directly with message server 110 to obtain the messages. In one embodiment, inbound communication manager 130 operates in conjunction with a channel driver (not shown) communicating via a communication application programming interface (API), also not shown. The channel driver listens to the message channel and detects messages arriving at a given message server. This channel driver provides information about incoming messages to inbound communication manager 130 and is described in further detail in application Ser. No. 09/823,769 (attorney docket M-11527 US, client reference SIEB061/US), filed on Mar. 31, 2001, entitled “Configurable Media-Independent Server,” and naming Anil K. Annadata and Mingte Chen as inventors, the application being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Messages are displayed to a user, such as a customer service agent, via application program client 125. In an alternative embodiment, the functionality of message client 105 can be provided within application program client 125.

System 100 also includes format analyzer 140, format converter 150, and message viewer 170. One of skill in the art will recognize that the functionality provided by each element shown can be provided by one or more elements arranged in a variety of architectures. For example, inbound communication manager 130 may be a module outside, but in communication with, application program server 120. Similarly, format analyzer 140, and/or format converter 150 may be modules within application program server 120. In the embodiment shown, application program client 125 can communicate with message viewer 170 to receive messages to display. Alternatively, messages between message viewer 170 and application program client 125 may be communicated through application program server 120, or message viewer 170 may be a module within application program client 125.

Format analyzer 140 analyzes a message received to determine the format of the message, and format converter 150 converts the message to an independent format to be stored in message database 160. In one embodiment, the independent format is Unicode Transformation Format (UTF) 16. Unicode is a 16-bit encoding for characters that provides a unique number for every character commonly used in text interchange throughout the world, independent of platform, program, and language. Unicode values include two bytes, rather than one, to represent each character.

A codepage is a list of selected character codes in a certain order. Codepages are usually defined to support specific languages or groups of languages that share common writing systems. The order of the character codes in a codepage allows the system to provide the appropriate character code to an application when a user presses a key on the keyboard. When a new codepage is loaded into the computer system memory, different character codes are provided to the application. For example, typically a different codepage is loaded when processing Japanese characters than the codepage loaded for English characters.

FIG. 2 shows an example data flow for receiving a message in the system of FIG. 1. In action 2.1, message client 105 is used to send an original message 112 to message server 110. In action 2.2, inbound communication manager 130 obtains original message 112 from message server 110. In action 2.3, application program server 120 obtains original message 112 from inbound communication manager 130 and provides original message 112 to format analyzer 140. In action 2.4, format analyzer 140 analyzes the message to determine the native format of the message. Native format 142 represents an indicator of the native format of the message; for example, native format 142 might indicate that the original message was written using a rich text format in a Japanese character set. In action 2.5, format analyzer 140 provides original message 112 and native format 142 to format converter 150.

In action 2.6, format converter 150 uses native format 142 to convert original message 112 to an independent format, with the independent format taking form as converted message 152.

In action 2.7, format converter provides original message 112 and converted message 152, along with the native format 142 of the original message 112, to application program server 120. In action 2.8, application program server 120 stores original message 112 and converted message 152, along with the native format 142 of the original message 112, in message database 160. An association is made between the original message and its native format as well as with the converted form of the message. One of skill in the art will understand that such an association can be made in various ways, such as by adding a record to a database relationship table for a relationship between associated data records.

FIG. 3 shows an example data flow for responding to a request to view the message received in the data flow of FIG. 2. In action 3.1, a user of application program client 125 sends a request to view message 302 to application program server 120. For example, a customer service agent may open the message, which describes a problem encountered by a user. In action 3.2, application program server 120 retrieves converted message 152 and native format 142 from message database 160.

In action 3.3, application program server 120 dynamically selects a format for displaying the message. In the example shown, application program server 120 dynamically selects to provide the message in native format 142. Alternatively, application program server 120 could select other formats, such as a default format for the customer service agent reading the message. In action 3.4, application program server 120 provides converted message 152 and the selected format, in this case native format 142, to message viewer 170 for display. In action 3.5, message viewer 170 causes converted message 152, stored in the independent format, to be displayed in native format 142 via application program client 125.

FIGS. 4A and 4B, collectively referred to as FIG. 4, show an example data flow for sending a response to the message received in the data flow of FIG. 2. In action 4.1, application program client 125 is used to prepare an original response 412, for example, as a response to an original message received from a customer. In action 4.2, the response is sent to application program server 120. As an alternative to actions 4.1 and 4.2, a response can be automatically generated by application program server 120. For example, messages having certain content, such as a frequently asked question, may have pre-formulated responses that can be automatically provided without the need to involve a customer service agent.

When the response is determined or prepared, in action 4.3, the response is provided to format analyzer 140, which analyzes the format of the response in action 4.4. In action 4.5, the original response 412 and response format 442 are provided to format converter 150. In action 4.6, the original response 412 is converted to an independent format, which takes form as converted response 452. In action 4.7, the original response 412, converted response 452, and response format 442 are provided by format converter 150 to application program server 120. In action 4.8, the original response 412, converted response 452, and response format 442 are stored by application program server 120 in message database 160. The response data are associated with the original message data such that data about the original message are available when processing the response. For example, an association can be made between original message 112 and original response 412.

FIG. 4B shows continuation of the activity for the response after the response is prepared and data about the response are stored. In action 4.9, after storing the response data in message database 160, application program server 120 dynamically selects a format in which to provide the response message to the sender of the original message. In this example, assume that the response is to be provided in a format matching that of the original message to which the response serves as a reply. In action 4.10, application program server 120 retrieves the native format 142 of the original message 112, as well as converted response 452. Retrieval of the data uses the association established with original message 112 when original response 412 data are stored.

In action 4.11, application program server 120 provides converted response 452 in native format 142 to format converter 150, which provides a formatted response 422 in action 4.12 to application program server 120. In action 4.13, application program server 120 then sends formatted response 422 to message server 110. When the user opens the e-mail response, message server 110 sends formatted response 422 in action 4.14 to message client 105. In action 4.15, message client 105 displays the response in the native format 142 of original message 112.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the data flow for providing a response to a message. In “Obtain Response to Message” step 510, a response to the message is obtained. As described above with reference to FIG. 4A actions 4.1 and 4.2, the response may be automatically generated or prepared by a customer service agent using application program client 125. In “Determine Format to Send Response” step 520, a format in which to provide the response is determined In one embodiment, responses may be formatted in accordance with the format of the original message. Alternatively, responses may be formatted as originally prepared by the agent, in a configurable default format, or in a different format altogether selected by a user or by logic within application program server 120.

At “Format of Original Message” decision point 530, if the selected format is to match the format of the original message, the format of the original message is retrieved in “Retrieve Format of Original Message” step 540. If another format is selected, control proceeds directly to “Provide Response in Selected Format” step 550. In “Provide Response in Selected Format” step 550, the response is provided in the selected format.

The above-described embodiments can be implemented using a variety of computer systems and architectures. The following section describes an example computing and network environment in which the present invention can be practiced.

An Example Computing and Network Environment

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a network environment in which a system according to the present invention may be practiced. As is illustrated in FIG. 6, network 600, such as a private wide area network (WAN) or the Internet, includes a number of networked servers 610(1)-(N) that are accessible by client computers 620(1)-(N). Communication between client computers 620(1)-(N) and servers 610(1)-(N) typically occurs over a publicly accessible network, such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a DSL connection, a cable modem connection or large bandwidth trunks (e.g., communications channels providing T1 or OC3 service) or wireless link. Client computers 620(1)-(N) access servers 610(1)-(N) through, for example, a service provider. This might be, for example, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as America On-Line™, Prodigy™, CompuServe™ or the like. Access is typically had by executing application specific software (e.g., network connection software and a browser) on the given one of client computers 620(1)-(N).

One or more of client computers 620(1)-(N) and/or one or more of servers 610(1)-(N) may be, for example, a computer system of any appropriate design, in general, including a mainframe, a mini-computer or a personal computer system. Such a computer system typically includes a system unit having a system processor and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, one or more display monitors and keyboards, one or more diskette drives, one or more fixed disk storage devices and one or more printers. These computer systems are typically information handling systems which are designed to provide computing power to one or more users, either locally or remotely. Such a computer system may also include one or a plurality of I/O devices (i.e., peripheral devices) which are coupled to the system processor and which perform specialized functions. Examples of I/O devices include modems, sound and video devices and specialized communication devices. Mass storage devices such as hard disks, CD-ROM drives and magneto-optical drives may also be provided, either as an integrated or peripheral device. One such example computer system, discussed in terms of client computers 620(1)-(N), is shown in detail in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of a computer system 710 suitable for implementing the present invention, and example of one or more of client computers 620(1)-(N). Computer system 710 includes a bus 712 which interconnects major subsystems of computer system 710 such as a central processor 714, a system memory 716 (typically RAM, but which may also include ROM, flash RAM, or the like), an input/output controller 718, an external audio device such as a speaker system 720 via an audio output interface 722, an external device such as a display screen 724 via display adapter 726, serial ports 728 and 730, a keyboard 732 (interfaced with a keyboard controller 733), a storage interface 734, a floppy disk drive 736 operative to receive a floppy disk 738, and a CD-ROM drive 740 operative to receive a CD-ROM 742. Also included are a mouse 746 (or other point-and-click device, coupled to bus 712 via serial port 728), a modem 747 (coupled to bus 712 via serial port 730) and a network interface 748 (coupled directly to bus 712).

Bus 712 allows data communication between central processor 714 and system memory 716, which may include both read only memory (ROM) or flash memory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), as previously noted. The RAM is generally the main memory into which the operating system and application programs are loaded and typically affords at least 66 megabytes of memory space. The ROM or flash memory may contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system (BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as the interaction with peripheral components. Applications resident with computer system 710 are generally stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium, such as a hard disk drive (e.g., fixed disk 744), an optical drive (e.g., CD-ROM drive 740), floppy disk unit 736 or other storage medium. Additionally, applications may be in the form of electronic signals modulated in accordance with the application and data communication technology when accessed via network modem 747 or interface 748.

Storage interface 734, as with the other storage interfaces of computer system 710, may connect to a standard computer readable medium for storage and/or retrieval of information, such as a fixed disk drive 744. Fixed disk drive 744 may be a part of computer system 710 or may be separate and accessed through other interface systems. Many other devices can be connected such as a mouse 746 connected to bus 712 via serial port 728, a modem 747 connected to bus 712 via serial port 730 and a network interface 748 connected directly to bus 712. Modem 747 may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a telephone link or to the Internet via an internet service provider (ISP). Network interface 748 may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a direct network link to the Internet via a POP (point of presence). Network interface 748 may provide such connection using wireless techniques, including digital cellular telephone connection, general packet radio service (GPRS) connection, digital satellite data connection or the like.

Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in a similar manner (e.g., bar code readers, document scanners, digital cameras and so on). Conversely, it is not necessary for all of the devices shown in FIG. 7 to be present to practice the present invention. The devices and subsystems may be interconnected in different ways from that shown in FIG. 7. The operation of a computer system such as that shown in FIG. 7 is readily known in the art and is not discussed in detail in this application. Code to implement the present invention may be stored in computer-readable storage media such as one or more of system memory 716, fixed disk 744, CD-ROM 742, or floppy disk 738. Additionally, computer system 710 may be any kind of computing device, and so includes personal data assistants (PDAs), network appliance, X-window terminal or other such computing device. Computer system 710 also supports a number of Internet access tools, including, for example, an HTTP-compliant web browser having a JavaScript interpreter.

Advantages of the present invention are many. The invention allows companies to communicate with customers using a variety of electronic messaging systems, languages, and formats using a single user interface for agents. Messages can be communicated in one language, such as Japanese, requiring a different character set for display than the default configuration for the recipient, who may, for example, use English as a default language. The original format of a message is preserved and can be used in formulating a response to the message. The format of a response can be dynamically selected in accordance with needs of the business organization. Pre-formulated answers to requests can be automatically provided in the native format used by a user in sending the original message, in a specified default format, or in another format determined to be suitable for a particular situation.

Other Embodiments

The foregoing describes an embodiment wherein some components are contained within other components (e.g., inbound communication manager 130 within application server program 120 in FIG. 1). It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples; in fact, many other architectures can be implemented that achieve the same functionality. Any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the present invention via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and examples. It will be understood by those within the art that each block diagram component, flowchart step, operation and/or component illustrated by the use of examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

The present invention has been described in the context of fully functional computer systems; however, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of signal bearing media include recordable media such as floppy disks and CD-ROM, transmission type media such as digital and analog communications links, as well as media storage and distribution systems developed in the future.

The above-discussed embodiments may be implemented by software modules that perform certain tasks. The software modules discussed herein may include script, batch, or other executable files. The software modules may be stored on a machine-readable or computer-readable storage medium such as a disk drive. Storage devices used for storing software modules in accordance with an embodiment of the invention may be magnetic floppy disks, hard disks, or optical discs, such as CD-ROMs or CD-Rs, for example. A storage device used for storing firmware or hardware modules in accordance with an embodiment of the invention may also include a semiconductor-based memory, which may be permanently, removably or remotely coupled to a microprocessor/memory system. Thus, the modules may be stored within a computer system memory to configure the computer system to perform the functions of the module. Other new and various types of computer-readable storage media may be used to store the modules discussed herein.

The above description is intended to be illustrative of the invention and should not be taken to be limiting. Those skilled in the art will readily implement the steps necessary to provide the structures and the methods disclosed herein, and will understand that the process parameters and sequence of steps are given by way of example only and can be varied to achieve the desired structure as well as modifications that are within the scope of the invention. Variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein can be made based on the description set forth herein, without departing from the scope of the invention.

Consequently, the invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims, giving full cognizance to equivalents in all respects. 

1. A method comprising: receiving a message in a native format; dynamically selecting a second format for providing a response to the message, wherein the response comprises data in an independent format; and providing the response in the second format. 